The tabloid-style insert will appear in Tribune Co.'s Spanish-language Hoy dailies in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and an independent paper in Washington D.C. called The Washington Hispanic, said Bill Casey, vice president for special editions.

Co-branded venture
The U.S. Hispanic version, to be called simply The Wall Street Journal and co-branded with its partner newspapers, is modeled on the 10-year-old Wall Street Journal Americas, which circulates to 1.7 million readers in Latin America as a daily Spanish-language insert in leading newspapers in 16 countries.

Mr. Casey said the goal is to add partner newspapers in other areas with large Hispanic populations such as Texas and Florida. The Tribune's Sun-Sentinel, which has a weekly Spanish-language edition, already distributes the Journal's Sunday insert.

"We may add another partner or two in the first half of 2004," he said.

Most of the editorial content of the U.S. Hispanic edition will be repurposed and translated from various departments of The Wall Street Journal, such as personal finance, technology, the Personal Journal section, and the Sunday section distributed through Sunday newspapers, as well as articles from the Wall Street Journal Americas, he said.

'Attractive' market
"We've looked at [the U.S. Hispanic] market since we started the Wall Street Journal Americas 10 years ago," Mr. Casey said. "Our discussions with Hoy started last year. The [Hispanic] market continues to grow and becomes more and more attractive."

He said the Journal will approach its existing advertisers as well as Hispanic ad agencies, noting that a lot of the growth in Spanish-language ad dollars has gone to broadcast media. Final ad rates have not been set yet, he said.

"Print options are limited unless you buy individual markets," Mr. Casey said. "We think this is a unique proposition to offer advertisers a way to reach a broad national audience in print through a single buy."

Tribune's 'Hoy'
With Hoy, the Tribune is trying to build a single national newspaper brand city by city. Hoy (Spanish for "today") first launched in 1998 in New York, where the daily, with a circulation of almost 94,000, has displaced El Diario La Prensa as the city's leading Spanish-language newspaper. In September, Tribune transformed Exito, its Spanish-language weekly in Chicago, into a daily Hoy. Last month, the company announced a March launch for Hoy in Los Angeles, where Tribune is shedding its 50% stake in L.A.'s main Spanish-language daily La Opinion. Miami is expected to be the site for the next Hoy as Tribune builds its franchise.

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Laurel Wentz

Laurel Wentz is Ad Age's Global and Multicultural Editor, responsible for international and U.S. Hispanic coverage. She is based in New York. She previously covered Europe from Ad Age's London bureau, and before that was Latin America editor, based in Sao Paulo. The best way to reach Laurel is by email at lwentz@adage.com.